Indonesia places hopes on Yayuk in Fed Cup
Indonesia places hopes on Yayuk in Fed Cup
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia appears to be placing all its hopes on
the shoulders of Yayuk Basuki in its Fed Cup tie against
Switzerland, due to start today.
Yayuk, one of the world's longest-serving Fed Cup players with
a record of 11 successive years, plays Patti Schnyder today and
hopes to help Indonesia take a morale-boosting 1-0 lead.
Switzerland is likely to pull level when world number 17
Martina Hingis takes on fellow teenager Liza Andriyani in the
second singles match.
Yayuk should make full use of an overnight break before she
meets Hingis tomorrow. The Indonesian world number 28 lost to the
15-year-old Swiss star at Hilton Head, North Carolina, last
March, but playing on home soil could lead to sweet revenge.
"Our ranking gap has nothing to do with this Fed Cup match.
I'll fight it out," Yayuk said in yesterday's work-out.
Indonesian non-playing captain Suharyadi has indicated his
squad's dependence on Yayuk. "Yayuk has to win both singles
matches. Otherwise we will be in trouble," he said after
Thursday's draw.
Suharyadi, hoping to try for better luck, sidelined the
country's second-best player, Romana Tedjakusuma from his choice
of singles players and preferred Liza instead. Romana will join
forces with Yayuk in the doubles.
The experiment, however, remains far from easing the mounting
pressures on Yayuk, who plans to retire at the end of the year.
She played her regular role in a Fed Cup first-round tie last
April, and crashed to surprise defeats when Indonesia was
humiliated in a 5-0 drubbing.
Another Swiss tennis team led by Olympic champion Marc Rosset
routed Indonesia 4-1 in a Davis Cup tie here in 1994.
Schnyder admitted yesterday that she only has a slim chance of
upsetting Yayuk in today's opening match, but was convinced that
Hingis could inspire the Swiss to an away win.
"Playing singles or doubles, Basuki is excellent. But so is
Martina. I think we can expect very close matches between Basuki
and Martina," world number 81 Schnyder said.
"Martina, however, will sweep her two singles matches and I
myself hope to take one singles match."
Hingis carries a superb Fed Cup record, winning 16 out of 18
singles and doubles matches since making her debut last year. She
is also buoyed by her Wimbledon doubles title which put her in
the record book as the youngest winner ever at the tournament.
A loss will drop Indonesia into the Asia Pacific qualifying
zone, its worst standing since 1985. Yayuk helped Indonesia reach
the quarterfinals in 1991, before losing to the eventual winner
Spain. (arf/amd)